2017-04-04

There is no excuse ... Talking CPD #IATEFL

Less than half an hour ago, I finished watching #IATEFL2017 Opening Plenary given by Gabriel Diaz Maggioli entitled "Empowering Teachers Through Continued Professional Development: Frameworks, Practices and Promises.

Needless to say this talk was very up my wishing list to attend (even virtually at 3am local time), so I set my alarm up and was eagerly waiting for it.

My expectations?
Hmmm, dear reader, maybe to get some extra validation on my own path. having ELT Research, Consultancy and Coaching to lead since April 2013 ... as seen on our Facebook page:

But definitely even more after reading his presentation summary:
"The notion that language teachers need ongoing professional development opportunities should be considered a harmless platitude. Yet, as the field stands now, most of our colleagues are not provided with such opportunities as parts of their jobs. How is it then that we hear so many wonderful tales of exploration and discovery? Teachers have taken upon themselves to build these growth opportunities. In this plenary I will share some stories, and weave the plots of new stories to come by presenting a “state of the art” hawk eye view of professional development and recommending potential ways in which colleagues can help colleagues learn and develop."
http://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2017/live-schedule

I was most impressed by his comments because he was "calling it as it is" = no hidden agenda. I have also been in management positions and can certainly validate his comments on budgets.

His highly recommended talk should be shortly available for the ELT community, being IATEFL Online (@IATEFLOnline) a partnership between the British Council and IATEFL.

What am I feeling?
Some questions popping into my mind, and to be honest, this reminds me of a Diploma module I was facilitating in Guadalajara, Mexico with school leaders, secondary school directors, coordinators. some teachers but also with few Jalisco Regional supervisors ... that was very interesting indeed - to say the least.

Who is responsible of our CPD?

Who should pay for it?

What can be done?

My Final Thoughts:
I utterly believe in Continued Professional Development ... and yes! we should assume this is a #CallForAction.